PAST SYSTEMS-ORIENTED RESEARCH HAS BEEN MAINLY THEORETICAL. MOREOVER, THE METHODS INVOLVED HAVE DEVELOPED IN A PIECEMEAL FASHION, WITHOUT ANY COHESIVE FRAMEWORK. THIS BOOK'S MAIN PROPOSITION IS THAT GENERAL SYSTEMS RESEARCH PROVIDES AN OPERATIONAL, CONCEPTUAL, AND LOGICALLY CONSISTENT BRIDGE BETWEEN SOCIAL SCIENCE DISCIPLINES AND VERY GENERAL AND ABSTRACTED DISCIPLINES SUCH AS MATHEMATICS, COMPUTER SCIENCE, AND PHILOSOPHY. FOLLOWING TWO CHAPTERS DISCUSSING THE MOTIVATION FOR THE FRAMEWORK, THREE CHAPTERS DEVELOP THE GENERAL SYSTEMS CONCEPTUAL FOUNDATION OF THE OVERALL FRAMEWORK. THE FRAMEWORK, TERMED A GENERAL SYSTEMS PROBLEMSOLVER, IS THEN ILLUSTRATED USING AN INVESTIGATION OF CONFLICT WITHIN NATIONS. FUNDAMENTAL SYSTEMS CONCEPTS SUCH AS BEHAVIOR, STATE, STRUCTURE SIMPLIFICATION, COMPLEXITY, AND DECOMPOSITION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH THEIR REAL WORLD COUNTERPARTS. FIGURES, TABLES, A REFERENCE LIST, A SUBJECT INDEX, NAME INDEX, AND FOUR APPENDIXES PRESENTING DATA FROM THE CASE EXAMPLE, ARE INCLUDED. (CFW)